Week 15 of the 2009-10 Serie A season featured two major derbies in Italian football.

On Saturday, it was the seemingly always top of the table meeting of the Derby D'Italia. 1st place Inter Milan versus 3rd place Juventus. The game featured a couple of firsts. Juve defender Giorgio Chiellini scored his 1st goal of the season and Inter striker Samuel Eto'o scored his 1st Derby D'Italia goal. However it was Juve midfielder Claudio Marchisio that was the hero with his goal in the 58th minute to give La Vecchia Signora the win over the Nerazzurri 2-1 at home at the Delle Alpi. The result ended Inter's 8-game unbeaten streak while Juve has won 3 of their last 4 matches.

On Sunday, the other major derby was the Derby della Capitale as Roma defeated Lazio 1-0. Marco Cassetti's 78th minute goal was the difference as the midfielder gave the Giallorossi the points over its hated rival. Roma is unbeaten in their last 5 matches having won 4 in that stretch. Lazio continues towards relegation as they extended their winless streak to 13 games.

Here are the results & standings from Giornata 15:

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 5TH

AC Milan 3 - 0 Sampdoria
ACM: Marco Borriello (2'), Clarence Seedorf (21'), Pato (23')

Juventus 2 - 1 Internazionale
JUV: Giorgio Chiellini (20') & Claudio Marchisio (58')
INT: Samuel Eto'o (26')

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 6TH

Genoa 2 - 2 Parma
GEN: Rodrigo Palacio (14') & Raffaele Palladino (66')
PAR: Jonathan Ludovic Biabiany (36' & 59')

Bologna 2 - 1 Udinese
BOL: Adailton (27') & Marco Di Vaio (pen 65')
UDI: Antonio Di Natale (45')

Fiorentina 2 - 0 Atalanta
FIO: Juan Vargas (26') & Alberto Gilardino (89')

Napoli 3 - 2 Bari
NAP: Fabio Quagliarella (54' & 88'), Christian Maggio (72')
BAR: Paulo Vito Barreto (49') & Andrea Ranocchia (62')

Siena 3 - 2 Catania
SIE: Emanuele Calaio (51'), Claudio Terzi (56'), Michele Paolucci (62')
CAT: Jorge Andres Martinez (14' & 55')

Palermo 2 - 1 Cagliari
PAL: Igor Budan (55') & Simon Kjaer (65')
CAG: Alessandro Matri (24')

Livorno 0 - 2 Chievo Verona
CHI: Luca Rigoni (12') & Simone Bentivoglio (66')

AS Roma 1 - 0 Lazio
ASR: Marco Cassetti (79')

STANDINGS

09-10 Serie A Wrap - Round 15

The Serie A is back from the international break and the surprise start of Genoa to the season continued. Genoa defeated Napoli at home 4-1 on the strength of 2 penalty kicks in a game that ended with Genoa's 10 men and Napoli's 9. Ex-Inter forward Hernan Crespo scored his 1st for his new team as Genoa stayed in 1st place with a perfect record.

The city of Genoa's other team Sampdoria is also perfect on the season after their 1-0 road win over Atalanta. Daniele Mannini scored for Sampdoria as they recorded their 1st clean sheet of the season despite playing a man down for the last 38 minutes of the match.

Juventus kept pace with Genoa with their 2-0 road win against Lazio. Barca loanee Martin Caceres scored deep into the 2nd half & David Trezeguet added another in 2nd half injury time to seal the 3 points. Ciro Ferrara's team has allowed only 1 goal on the season to maintain their perfect start.

Roma got its 1st win of the season as Claudio Rainieri took the reins of the capital city side. 2 goals in the last 17 minutes of the game to beat Siena 2-1 on the road. John Arne Riise scored the game winner in the 89th minute to pull I Giallorossi out of the relegation zone.

Here are the results & standings from Giornata 3:

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 12

Livorno 0 - 0 AC Milan

Lazio 0 - 2 Juventus
JUV: Martín Cáceres (72') & David Trezeguet (90')

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13

Atalanta 0 - 1 Sampdoria
SAM: Daniele Mannini (63')

Bologna 0 - 2 Chievo Verona
CHI: Giampiero Pinzi (18') & Sergio Pellissier (30')

Fiorentina 1 - 0 Cagliari
FIO: Alberto Gilardino (55')

Inter Milan 2 - 0 Parma
INT: Samuel Eto'o (71') & Diego Milito (88')

Udinese 4 - 2 Catania
UDI: Antonio Floro Flores (29'), Antonio Di Natale (55', pen 69', 79')
CAT: Takayuki Morimoto (12') & Guiseppe Mascara pen (34')

Siena 1 - 2 AS Roma
SIE: Massimo Maccarone (26')
ROM: Philippe Mexès (73') & John Arne Riise (89')

Palermo 1 - 1 Bari
PAL: Igor Budan (90')
BAR: Riccardo Allegretti (2')

Genoa 4 - 1 Napoli
GEN: Floccari (pen 45'), Mesto (55'), Hernan Crespo (75'), Houssine Kharja (pen 88')
NAP: Marek Hamsik (41')

STANDINGS

09-10 Serie A Wrap - Round 3

With the loss of Kaka to the second Galactico era of Real Madrid, AC Milan have a lot of rebuilding to do and a pot of gold to do it with.

It has been a summer of loss of the Rossoneri, Paolo Maldini has retired, Carlo Ancelotti has moved to Chelsea and Kaka has taken on a new challenge in Madrid. Together with the losses of David Beckham, who was a veritable hit during his short spell at the San Siro, although is seems he will be back. The ever ineffective Shevchenko, will depart for Chelsea once more, this time it is only the end of his loan spell and Phillipe Senderos will join his in London as he is returned with joy to Arsenal. Other players expected to leave are calamity keeper, Dida and walking corpse, Guiseppe Favalli.

With new coach Leonardo being brought in, some say on the cheap others say as a puppet for President Berlusconi. I am more optimistic as think Leonardo is a smart man, an intelligent man and a man that has been around the club for a number of years, thus know its workings inside out. It must also be noted that he was instrumental in bringing Brazilian starlet Alexandre Pato to Milan.

It is believed he will play a Brazil 1982 inspired 4-3-1-2, with the much maligned and often said dead trequartista role being resurrected. This position is seems is destined for former World Player of the Year, Ronaldinho. It is hoped he can rediscover the form that was so instrumental in Barcelona’s success of a few years back. Kaka is gone and Ronnie will have the team build around his deflated genius. Most hope he can rediscover his past form, especially those in and around Via Turati.

The summer has only just begun but Milan have already lined up a couple of young defenders. First to arrive was Thiago Silva, actually signed in January for around €10 million, although he couldn’t join due since his Milan already signed two non-EU nationals during the season. He has already played in Europe for Porto and Dymano Moscow, this spell was unsuccessful and he returned to his native Brazil to rebuild his career and reputuation. His good showing for Brazil in the Olympics and Fluminense earned him a return to Europe and the fortress that is the San Siro.

He has more recently been joined by Frenchman, Aly Cissokho who has just joined from FC Porto for around €15 million. He has had a rapid rise from French division 3 side Gueugnon two years ago, to the bright lights of Milan. He cemented his reputation in the Champions League against Manchester United where he dominated the left side of the park. He is mostly compared to Dani Alves; he can also play on both sides of the pitch and on the wing. It seems he will be a useful signing for the Rossoneri.

With both players being 24 and 21 respectively is seems youth will finally be given a chance.

Along with this newly found youth, Alessandro Nesta and Gennaro Gattuso should have recovered from long-term injuries adding a touch of class to the side.

The pursuit of a striker seems to be on the cards very much so. Emmanuel Adebayor linked repeatedly throughout the season, but of late it appears Edin Dzeko, German Footballer of the Year, is going to be moving across Europe. Plus being only 23 himself, a new transfer strategy is most definitely in place. Others linked include Phillipe Mexes and 23 year old, attacking midfielder, Hernanes of Sao Paulo, who is rated by some as the most promising young player in the world.

Leonardo is presiding over a revolution in Milan, and could well be leading a renaissance just as his namesake did over 500 years ago.

Check Out David Schiavone on Serie A Weekly.

Leonardo Leads Renaissance

The last week of an exciting Serie A season has passed and with Inter already capturing its 17th Scudetto, one storyline involved the relegation fight between Bologna and Torino. Marco Di Vaio scored his 24th goal of the season as Bologna defeated Catania 3-1 at home and will remain in the Serie A. Torino FC however will be relegated after they fell 3-2 to Roma at the Stadio Olimpico. Francesco Totti's PK in the 83rd minute proved to be goal that sent Torino to the Serie B.

The marquee matchup featured a Top 4 meeting between AC Milan v. Fiorentinawith Champions League positioning at stake. The Brazilian duo of Kaka & Pato scored in the 2nd half as Il Rossoneri defeated I Viola 2-0 in Florence. The result did not change the standings for either squad. Milan finished 3rd despite being level on points with Juventus because Milan lost the head to head tiebreaker.

Fiorentina held on to the last Champions League spot despite Genoa pulling level on points after their 4-1 home win against Lecce. Diego Milito scored twice in his final match with Genoa to solidify 5th place. Genoa lost the head to head tiebreaker with Fiorentina to just miss the last Champions League spot and secure a Europa League spot along with Roma.

The final week of the Serie A was action packed as every match had at least two goals and 7 of the 10 matches had at least 3 goals. No one can say that Italian Serie A doesn't play an attacking, attractive style of football.

Here are the Week 38 results and final standings:

SUNDAY, MAY 31st

Bologna 3 - 1 Catania
BOL: Nicola Mingazzini (5'), Claudio Terzi (26'), Marco Di Vaio (68')
CAT: Takayuki Morimoto (50')

Fiorentina 0 - 2 AC Milan
ACM: Kaká (55') & Pato (76')

Inter Milan 4 - 3 Atalanta
INT: Sulley Muntari (6'), Ibrahimovic (12' & 81'), Cambiasso (80')
ATL: Cristiano Doni (10' & 53') & Luca Cigarini (25')

Juventus 2 - 0 Lazio
JUV: Vincenzo Iaquinta (3' & 59')

Napoli 3 - 0 Chievo
NAP: Francesco Montervino (4'), Mariano Bogliacino (7'), Piá (18')

Reggina 1 - 1 Siena
REG: Christian Stuani (pen 45')
SIE: Massimo Maccarone (76')

AS Roma 3 - 2 Torino
ROM: Jeremy Menez (35'), Mirko Vucinic (74'), Francesco Totti (pen 83')
TOR: Tommaso Vailatti (9') & Nicola Ventola (88')

Udinese 6 - 2 Cagliari
UDI: Asamoah (10'), Pepe (11'), Flores (15'), Pasquale (58'), Quagliarella (81'),
Ighalo (89')
CAG: Robert Acquafresca (pen 55') & Andrea Parola (57')

Genoa 4 - 1 Lecce
GEN: Bosko Jankovic (22'), Domenico Criscito (52'), Diego Milito (56' & 67')
LEC: Simone Tiribocchi (32')

Palermo 2 - 2 Sampdoria
PAL: Fabrizio Miccoli (8') & Davide Succi (42')
SAM: Giampaolo Pazzini (45') & Marius Stankevicius (59')

STANDINGS


Inter Milan, Juventus, & AC Milan straight into 09-10 Champions League Group Stage
Fiorentina into Champions League playoff round

Genoa & Lazio into 09-10 Europa League playoff round
AS Roma into Europa League 3rd qualifying round

Torino, Reggina, and Lecce relegated into Serie B

Serie A Weekly Wrap - Giornata 38

The penultimate round of calcio italiano was action packed as only 2 matches had less than 2 goals combined from both teams. At this point the only drama will be what team will finish 2nd and what team will be the last to be relegated.

Juventus snapped a 7-game winless streak with their 3-0 road win against Siena. Juve icon Alessandro Del Piero scored twice to give La Vecchia Signora the 3 points and pull even with AC Milan on points. Il Rossoneri fell to AS Roma 3-2 at home in Paolo Maldini's last home game. Massimo Ambrosini's double wasn't enough to take down Il Giallorossi. Roma's iconic captain Francesco Totti scored in the 85th minute to give Roma the win. Totti's goal secured Roma's place in next season's Europa League.

Torino fell back into the relegation zone after their 3-2 loss at home to Genoa. Future Inter Milan striker Diego Milito scored twice including the game winner in the 89th minute to secure their place in next season's Europa League and put Torino in a precarious position for relegation.

Bologna moved out of relegation despite their 0-0 draw at Chievo, Marco Di Vaio failed to improve his chance to be named Capocannoniere as Serie A's leading goal scorer. Inter's Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored in Inter 2-1 road loss to Cagliari to move into a tie with Di Vaio at 23 goals for the season.

Here are the results & standings for Week 37:

WEDNESDAY, MAY 20nd

Lazio 1 - 0 Reggina
LAZ: Mauro Zárate (26')

SUNDAY, MAY 24th

Atalanta 2 - 2 Palermo
ATL: Gianvito Plasmati (50' & 67')
PAL: Davide Succi (32') & Fabrizio Miccoli (75')

Lecce 1 - 1 Fiorentina
LEC: Simone Tiribocchi (50')
FIO: Martin Jørgensen (90')

AC Milan 2 - 3 AS Roma
ACM: Massimo Ambrosini (75' & 81')
ROM: John Arne Riise (36'), Jérémy Menez (80'), Francesco Totti (85')

Chievo Verona 0 - 0 Bologna

Torino 2 - 3 Genoa
TOR: Ivan Franceschini (40') & Rolando Bianchi (49')
GEN: Diego Milito (pen 32' & 89') & Ruben Olivera (48')

Sampdoria 2 - 2 Udinese
SAM: Mauricio Isla (og 32') & Antonio Cassano (pen 44')
UDI: Gaetano D'Agostino (pen 13') & Felipe (61')

Siena 0 - 3 Juventus
JUV: Alessandro Del Piero (18' & 89') & Claudio Marchisio (37')

Cagliari 2 - 1 Internazionale
CAG: Andrea Cossu (34') & Robert Acquafresca (71')
INT: Zlatan Ibrahimovic (8')

Catania 3 - 1 Napoli
CAT: T. Morimoto (42'), Guiseppe Mascara (pen 88'), Vito Falconieri (90')
NAP: Mariano Bogliacino (28')

STANDINGS

Serie A Weekly Wrap - Giornata 37

After 36 weeks & a New Years/Christmas break, Italy has its champions. Congratulations to FC Internazionale Milano for clinching their 17th Scudetto. The Nerazzurri won the title after arch-rivals AC Milan lost on Saturday 2-1 on the road to Udinese. For good measure, Inter gave their home fans a show by trouncing Siena 3-0 at home to solidify their place as Italy's best team. Goals by Esteban Cambiasso, Mario Balotelli, & Zlatan Ibrahimovic put everyone in an even better mood for their 4th straight Serie A Championship. Even sweeter is the fact that Inter has equalled AC Milan for the 2nd most Scudetto titles in history.

Some other notable action in the Serie A for Giornata 36 is the slide of 3rd place Juventus who extend their winless streak to 7 matches as they drew 2-2 at home to Atalanta in an empty Olimpico Di Torino stadium. Maximilano Pellegrino scored the equalizer in the 44th minute for Atalanta to share the points as Juventus couldn't breakthrough in the 2nd half. The result is Juve's 5th straight draw and cost Claudio Raineri his job.

Fiorentina is the complete opposite as I Viola won their 4th straight match with their 1-0 home win over beaten '09 Coppa Italia finalists Sampdoria. Alberto Gilardino scored his 19th goal of the season to get the 3 points. 4th place Fiorentina have won 7 of their last 8 matches and now trail Juve by 1 point in the standings.

While the championship race is over, the relegation battle is still fierce. Torino kept themselves out of the relegation zone with a big 2-1 road victory versus Napoli. Alessandro Rosina's 72nd minute goal gave Torino the points and kept them 1 point from relegation. Reggina moved off the bottom of the table with a 2-1 home win over Cagliari as Lecce fell to Bologna in a bottom 3 matchup. Sergio Volpi's dramatic 2nd half injury time goal gave Bologna a massive 2-1 home win against Lecce. The win keeps Bologna in 18th just 1 point back of still-safe Torino.

Here are the results & standings for Week 36:

SATURDAY, MAY 16th

AS Roma 4 - 3 Catania
ASR: Perrotta (13' & 31'), Vucinic (17'), Panucci (91')
CAT: Tedesco (15'), Mascara (47'), Morimoto (72')

Udinese 2 - 1 AC Milan
UDI: Gaetano D'Agostino (pen 31') & Cristian Zapata (49')
ACM: Massimo Ambrosini (93')

SUNDAY, MAY 17th

Bologna 2 - 1 Lecce
BOL: Marco Di Vaio (37') & Sergio Volpi (94')
LEC: Simone Tiribocchi (30')

Fiorentina 1 - 0 Sampdoria
FIO: Alberto Gilardino (21')

Juventus 2 - 2 Atalanta
JUV: Vincenzo Iaquinta (26') & Cristiano Zanetti (36')
ATA: Luca Cigarini (2') & Maximiliano Pellegrino (44')

Napoli 1 - 2 Torino
NAP: Joao Batista Inacio Pia (42')
TOR: Rolando Bianchi (51') & Alessandro Rosina (72')

Reggina 2 - 1 Cagliari
REG: Fabio Ceravolo (26') & Franco Brienza (49')
CAG: Andrea Lazzari (18')

Genoa 2 - 2 Chievo
GEN: Diego Milito (pen 58')& Ruben Olivera (71')
CHI: Giampiero Pinzi (35') & Sergio Pellissier (85')

Palermo 2 - 0 Lazio
PAL: Fabrizio Miccoli (pen 6') & Giulio Migliaccio (87')

Inter Milan 3 - 0 Siena
INT: Esteban Cambiasso (45'), Mario Balotelli (52'), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (76')

STANDINGS

Serie A Weekly Wrap - Giornata 36

Week 35 of the Serie A was full of tight matches showing the competitive balance of Italy's 1st Division of Football. Only one match had a goal differential of more than 2 goals and there were 6 draws over the weekend. One of those draws delayed a Scudetto celebration for Inter Milan. Chievo battled Il Nerazzurri to a 2-2 draw in Verona. Luciano's 73rd minute goal delayed Inter 's celebration of a 4th consecutive Scudetto.

The marquee match featured the two winningest clubs in Serie A history as Milan hosted Juventus at the San Siro. Vincenzo Iaquinta's goal in the 60th was a quick response to Clarence Seedorf's goal in the 57th minute as the game eventually ended in a 1-1 draw. The draw ended Milan's 5-game winning streak but extended their unbeaten streak to 9 matches. Juventus has now drawn in 4 straight games and are now winless in their last 6 matches.

Fiorentina tightened their grip on the last Champions League spot by defeating Catania on the road 2-0. I Viola have won 6 of their last 7 matches while their main competition for that last UCL spot needed a late goal to salvage a point. Genoa drew 1-1 at Atalanta with Domenico Criscito scoring in 2nd half injury to get the point.

In the relegation battle, Torino took on Bologna with the winner jumping out of the relegation zone for this week. Both sides split the points with a 1-1 draw. Torino's Alessandro Rosina buried a PK to give them a 1-0 lead in the 37th minute but refs returned the favor to Bologna in the 86th minute. Il Capo Cannoniere leader Marco Di Vaio sank a PK in the 86th minute to secure the draw. Torino remains in 17th place just one point out of the relegation zone.

Here are the results & standings from Week 35:

SATURDAY, MAY 9th

Sampdoria 5 - 0 Reggina
SAM: Daniele Dessena (1'& 31'), Delvecchio (37'), Marilungo (46'), Pazzini (52')

Lazio 1 - 3 Udinese
LAZ: Tommaso Rocchi (56')
UDI: Floro Flores (60'), D'Agostino (69'), Quagliarella (86')

SUNDAY, MAY 10th

Atalanta 1 - 1 Genoa
ATL: Jaime Andrés Valdés (9')
GEN: Domenico Criscito (90')

Lecce 1 - 1 Napoli
LEC: Andrea Zanchetta (pen 43')
NAP: Joao Batista Inacio Piá (33')

Chievo 2 - 2 Inter Milan
CHI: Michele Marcolini (27') & Luciano (73')
INT: Hernán Crespo (3') & Mario Balotelli (65')

Torino 1 -1 Bologna
TOR: Alessandro Rosina (pen 37')
BOL: Marco Di Vaio (pen 86')

Siena 1 - 0 Palermo
SIE: Emanuele Calaiò (60')

Cagliari 2 - 2 AS Roma
CAG: Alessandro Matri (34') & Robert Acquafresca (58')
ROM: Francesco Totti (63') & Simone Perrotta (69')

Catania 0 - 2 Fiorentina
FIO: Stevan Jovetic (11') & Luciano Zauri (93')

AC Milan 1 - 1 Juventus
ACM: Clarence Seedorf (57')
JUV: Vincenzo Iaquinta (60')

STANDINGS

Serie A Weekly Wrap - Giornata 35

4 matches remain in the 2008-09 Serie A season and after week 34 the only thing that was settled was the participants dueling for the last Champions League spot. Fiorentina kept 4th place with a 1-0 home win over relegation threatened Torino. Peruvian midfielder Juan Vargas scored to keep i Viola 1 point ahead of Genoa for the last Champions League spot.

Genoa got a hat trick from their superstar goal scorer Diego Milito in their 3-1 home win over Sampdoria in an intense Derby della Lanterna. Italy's oldest club snapped a 2-game losing skid and swept the season series from their city rivals. Roma's 0-0 home draw against Chievo sees I Giallorossi 7 points back of Genoa and virtually out of the Champions League spot race.

Juventus continued their head scratching slide with their 2-2 draw at home against Lecce. Argentina born forward José Castillo scored the equalizer in 2nd half injury time to extend La Vecchia Signora's ill-timed winless streak to 5 games.

The Milan sides continued their winning ways with 2-0 victories. 1st place Inter moved closer to their 17th Scudetto with goals from Ibrahimovic & Muntari to beat Lazio. While Il Rossoneri kept pressure on Inter with goals from Kakà & Pippo Inzaghi to get 3 points against Catania.

Here are the results and standings from Week 34:

SATURDAY, MAY 2nd

Bologna 1 - 2 Reggina
BOL: Vaggelis Moras (87')
REG: Franco Brienza (40') & Edgar Barreto (46')

Inter Milan 2 - 0 Lazio
INT: Zlatan Ibrahimovic (58') & Sulley Ali Muntari (70')

SUNDAY, MAY 3rd

Genoa 3 - 1 Sampdoria
GEN: Diego Milito (30', 73', 93')
SAM: Hugo Campagnaro (45'+3')

Catania 0 - 2 AC Milan
ACM: Kakà (51') & Pippo Inzaghi (27')

Palermo 5 - 1 Cagliari
PAL: Migliaccio (29'), Miccoli (38'), Tedesco (50'), Cavani (57'), Succi (87')
CAG: Jeda (48')

Siena 2 - 1 Napoli
SIE: Houssine Kharja (11') & Massimo Maccarone (25')
NAP: Inacio Pia' (80')

Udinese 3 - 0 Atalanta
UDI: Fabio Quagliarella (43' & 74)' & Giovanni Pasquale (91)

AS Roma 0 - 0 Chievo

Juventus 2 - 2 Lecce
JUV: Pavel Nedved (54' & 66')
LEC: Axel Konan (11') & José Castillo (93')

Fiorentina 1 - 0 Torino
FIO: Juan Manuel Vargas (57')

STANDINGS

Serie A Weekly Wrap - Giornata 34

Whomever said that the race for the Scudetto was over, spoke too soon. Inter Milan suffered a stunning 1-0 loss on the road to Napoli. Ex-Juve striker Marcelo Zalayeta scored in the 73rd minute to give Napoli the win and extend Inter’s winless streak to 3 games. The loss was the Nerazzurri’s 3rd of the season and may have opened the door to 2nd place AC Milan to challenge Inter for the Scudetto.

AC Milan continues its fierce late season charge with a 3-0 win at the San Siro over Palermo. 2 PK goals from Kaká and another score from Super Pippo Inzaghi gave Il Rossoneri the win. Milan extended their unbeaten streak to 7, having won 6 in that span. AC Milan has pulled 2 points ahead of Juventus and moved to within 7 points of their league leading arch rivals.

Fiorentina moved into 4th place and the last Champions League spot with an impressive 4-1 win at home versus fellow Champions League spot contender, Roma. A double by Alberto Gilardino helped I Viola to the 3 points. Fiorentina leaped over Genoa after Genoa lost 2-0 to Bologna on the road. Marco Di Vaio scored his league leading 21st goal for Bologna in the victory.

Here are the results and standings from Week 33:

SATURDAY, APRIL 25th
Chievo 1 - 2 Udinese
CHI: Sergio Pellissier (71′)
UDI: Gaetano D’Agostino (pen 35′ & 93′)

Fiorentina 4 - 1 AS Roma
FIO: Juan Manuel Vargas (6′), Alberto Gilardino (47′ & 67′), Massimo Gobbi (73′)
ROM: Julio Baptista (86′)

SUNDAY, APRIL 26th
Bologna 2 - 0 Genoa
BOL: Marco Di Vaio (pen 15′) & Claudio Terzi (25′)

Lazio 0 - 1 Atalanta
ATL: Leonardo Talamonti (24′)

Lecce 2 - 1 Catania
LEC: Gianni Munari (11′) & Simone Tiribocchi (25′)
CAT: Jorge Martínez (47′)

AC Milan 3 - 0 Palermo
ACM: Kaká (pen 10′ & pen 56′) & Filippo Inzaghi (19′)

Reggina 2 - 2 Juventus
REG: Antonino Barillá (26′) & Emil Hallfreðsson (69′)
JUV: Alessandro Del Piero (pen 48′) & Cristiano Zanetti (73′)

Torino 1 - 0 Siena
TOR: Rolando Bianchi (10′)

Sampdoria 3 - 3 Cagliari
SAM: Guido Marilungo (26′ & 43′) & Antonio Cassano (86′)
CAG: Alessandro Matri (47′), Robert Acquafresca (pen 68′), Daniele Conti (80′)

Napoli 1 - 0 Inter Milan
NAP: Marcelo Zalayeta (73′)

STANDINGS

Serie A Weekly Wrap - Giornata 33

All those that thought that the Serie A wasn’t explosive need to look at Week 32 to see that it is. Let’s begin with the Derby D’Italia. Juventus and Inter played to a 1-1 draw in Turin that saw the drama intensify in the 2nd half. Mario Balotelli scored to give Inter the lead in the 64th minute and after Juve’s Tiago was sent off in the 76th minute it seemed as though the Nerazzurri would get the 3 points. However, conserevative substitutions by Jose Mourinho and the insertion of Sebastian Giovinco by Juve coach Claudio Rainieri eventually led to Zdenek Grygera’s goal in the 91st minute and a share of the points.

Juve’s draw makes them winless in their last 3 matches and with Milan’s 5-1 destruction of Torino. Il Rossoneri moved into a 2nd place tie with Juventus. Pippo Inzaghi scored a hat trick to extend Milan’s unbeaten streak to 6.

Roma improved its chances at a Champions League spot with a 3-2 home win versus Lecce. Francesco Totti scored twice to give Roma the victory. Roma’s win was good timing as the other Champions League contenders lost. Genoa lost 1-0 at home to Lazio and Fiorentina lost 3-1 on the road to Udinese.

Here are the results and standings from Week 32:

SATURDAY, APRIL 18th

Genoa 0 - 1 Lazio
LAZ: Mauro Zárate (65)

Juventus 1 - 1 Inter
JUV: Zdenek Grygera (91′)
INT: Mario Balotelli (64′)

SUNDAY, APRIL 19th

Atalanta 0 - 1 Reggina
REG: Fabio Ceravalo (40′)

Cagliari 2 - 0 Napoli
CAG: Jeda (5′) & Andrea Lazzari (92′)

Catania 2 - 0 Sampdoria
CAT: Giuseppe Mascara (pen 39′) & Jorge Martínez (48′)

Palermo 4 - 1 Bologna
PAL: Belleri (og 6′), Kjær (44′), Succi (63′), Cavani (92′)
BOL: Marco Di Vaio (84′)

Roma 3 - 2 Lecce
ROM: Francesco Totti (3′ & pen 59′), Matteo Brighi (13)
LEC: Munari (31′) & Papadopoulos (55′)

Siena 0 - 2 Chievo
CHI: Sergio Pellissier (23′ & 48′)

Udinese 3 - 1 Fiorentina
UDI: Kwadwo Asamoah (10′), Gaetano D’Agostino (pen 47′ & 69′)
FIO: Dario Dainelli (67′)

Milan 5 - 1 Torino
MIL: Filippo Inzaghi (13′, 37′, 60′), Kaká (pen 68′), Ambrosini (90′)
TOR: Ivan Franceschini (80′)

STANDINGS

Serie A Weekly Wrap - Week 32

The matches of Week 31 of the Serie A were overshadowed by the tragedy of devastating earthquakes that killed around 230 people and injured many more in Central Italy. Matches across the country held a moment of silence out of respect for those that were affected by the quakes. All but 1 match was played on Saturday as Easter Sunday ceremonies took hold of the predominantly Catholic nation. That match was Udinese's 2-0 road win over Reggina and it took place on Sunday because Udinese played a UEFA Cup quarterfinal match on Thursday.

The marquee match of the week featured 4th place Genoa and 2nd place Juventus. Genoa defeated Juve 3-2 as the home side got a brace from Ex-Barcelona midfielder Thiago Motta. However, the game winner was scored in the 88th minute by Raffaele Palladino as Genoa dropped La Vecchia Signora 10 points behind Inter for the Scudetto.

The Derby della Capitale was another heated affair with goals early & often and red cards late & often. 3 goals were scored in the 1st 10 minutes with Lazio's Goran Pandev and Mauro Zarate scoring in the 1st 4 minutes to give Lazio an insurmountable lead that ultimately lead to a 4-2 victory. The victory snapped Lazio's 3-game losing streak and pretty much ended Roma's chances at a Champions League spot.

Here are the results and standings from Week 31:

Genoa 3 - 2 Juventus
GEN: Thiago Motta (29' & 45') & Raffaele Palladino (88')
JUV: Alessandro Del Piero (pen 45') & Vincenzo Iaquinta (84')

Lazio 4 - 2 AS Roma
LAZ: Goran Pandev (2'), Mauro Zarate (4'), Lichtsteiner (57'), Kolarov (85')
ROM: Philippe Mexès (10') & Daniele De Rossi (81')

Bologna 1 - 4 Siena
BOL: Massimo Marazzina (20')
SIE: Emanuele Calaio (6'), Daniele Portanova (11'), Ghezzal (62'), Kharja (81')

Fiorentina 2 - 1 Cagliari
FIO: Manuel Pasqual (53') & Juan Manuel Vargas (85')
CAG: Daniele Ragatzu (86')

Inter Milan 2 - 2 Palermo
INT: Mario Balotelli (15') & Zlatan Ibrahimovic (pen 39')
PAL: Edison Cavani (73') & Davide Succi (76')

Lecce 1 - 3 Sampdoria
LEC: Fabio Caserta (pen 59')
SAM: Giampaolo Pazzini (11') & Antonio Cassano (pen 30' & pen 88')

Napoli 0 - 0 Atalanta

Chievo 0 - 1 AC Milan
ACM: Clarence Seedorf (53')

Torino 2 - 1 Catania
TOR: Rolando Bianchi (82') & Cesare Natali (88')
CAT: Jorge Martínez (85')

Reggina 0 - 2 Udinese
UDI: (85') Antonio Floro Flores (85' & 90'+1)

STANDINGS

Serie A Weekly Wrap - Giornata 31

Well Serie A fans, welcome back. The national team solidified their chances of going to South Africa so now its time for the clubs to solidify their chances for either a Scudetto, European competition place, or avoid relegation. With only 8 weeks left, teams need points and need them NOW.

Inter Milan may have secured their 17th Scudetto with a lucky 1-0 road win over Udinese. Nerazzurri were gifted the 3 points when Udinese defender Mauricio Isla put the ball in his own net in the 77th minute. Inter continues to top the table with 72 points extending its lead to 9 points over Juventus.

Juve dropped points to Inter after a thrilling 3-3 draw vs Chievo. Sergio Pellissier scored a hat trick to lead Chievo but La Vecchia Signora got a point on an own goal by Chievo's defender Andrea Mantovani. The draw breaks Juve's 5-game winning streak.

The contenders for the last two Champions League spots will push the drama till the very end as all the teams in contention won their matches.

3rd place Milan beat Lecce 2-0 at home on the strength of two 2nd half injury time goals from Ronaldinho & Pippo Inzaghi. 4th place Genoa kept within 4 points of Milan with a tough 1-0 road win over Reggina. Thiago Motta scored in the 78th minute to maintain Genoa's standing. 5th place Fiorentina stayed 2 points back of Genoa with their 2-1 road win over Atalanta. Alberto Gilardino scored the game winner in the 89th minute providing heart -wrenching drama for I Viola.

Here are the results & standings for Week 30:

Atalanta 1 - 2 Fiorentina
ATL: Gianvito Plasmati (49')
FIO: Stevan Jovetic (59') & Alberto Gilardino (89')

Cagliari 1 - 0 Catania
CAG: Alessandro Matri (80')

Juventus 3 - 3 Chievo
JUV: Chiellini (34'), Andrea Mantovani (og 53'), Iaquinta (79')
CHI: Sergio Pellissier (25', 44', 90'+1')

Palermo 1 - 0 Torino
PAL: Edinson Cavani (51')

Reggina 0 - 1 Genoa
GEN: Thiago Motta (78')

Roma 2 - 1 Bologna
ROM: Francesco Totti (12' & 58')
BOL: Massimo Marazzina (26')

Sampdoria 2 - 2 Napoli
SAM: Angelo Palombo (28' & 63')
NAP: Marcelo Zalayeta (44') & Germán Denis (90'+2')

Siena 2 - 0 Lazio
SIE: Emanuele Calaiò (25') & Massimo Maccarone (85')

Udinese 0 - 1 Inter Milan
INT: Mauricio Isla (og 77')

AC Milan 2 - 0 Lecce
ACM: Ronaldinho (90'+1') & Filippo Inzaghi (90'+3')

STANDINGS

Serie A Weekly Wrap - Giornata 30

The Serie A is heading down to the last few matches. There are 9 weeks left for teams to slip down the table or rise up the table. The marquee matchup of the weekend was AS Roma vs Juventus, too bad the match was one-sided as La Vecchia Signora dominated I Giallorossi in Rome. The score 4-1, Vincenzo Iaquinta scored twice to give the Turin side its 5th straight win and extend its unbeaten streak to 7 matches. The loss dropped Roma into 6th place a full 5 points from a Champions League spot.

Genoa & Fiorentina both won to make their duel for the last Champions League place more compelling. Genoa took care of Udinese 2-0 at home, Diego Milito scored his 16th goal of the season as Genoa maintained 4th place in the standings. Fiorentina kept pace with a tough 1-0 win at home versus Siena. Once again, Adrian Mutu saved I Viola with a goal in the 72nd minute to break Fiorentina's 2 game losing streak and keep them in 5th place just 2 points back of Genoa.

Here are the results from Week 29 - home teams listed first:

Saturday, March 21

Catania 1 - 0 Lazio
CAT: Michele Paolucci (24')

Roma 1- 4 Juventus
ROM: Simone Loria (48')
JUV: Iaquinta (34' & 55'), Mellberg (68'), Nedved (74')

Sunday, March 22

Bologna 0 - 1 Cagliari
CAG: Robert Acquafresca (45')

Chievo 1 - 0 Palermo
CHI: Luciano (46')

Fiorentina 1 - 0 Siena
FIO: Adrian Mutu (72')

Genoa 2 - 0 Udinese
GEN: Giuseppe Sculli (60'), Diego Milito (94')

Inter Milan 3 - 0 Reggina
INT: Esteban Cambiasso (6'), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (10' & 58')

Lecce 2 - 2 Atalanta
LEC: Fabio Caserta (9' & 91')
ATL: Simone Padoin (29' & 48')

Torino 1 - 3 Sampdoria
TOR: Rolando Bianchi (29')
SAM: Pazzini (8'), Sammarco (24'), Cassano (69')

Napoli 0 - 0 AC Milan

STANDINGS

Serie A Weekly Wrap - Giornata 29

Even though Italians teams faltered in the Champions League earlier in the week, there were still some things to celebrate. The best way to celebrate is to score a lot and this weekend there were a ton of goals. In Siena, Super Pippo Inzaghi scored his 300th goal in Milan's impressive 5-1 road win vs Siena to maintain their 3rd place standing in the table.

Juventus kept Inter in their sights with a 4-1 victory over Bologna as Juve icon Alessandro Del Piero scored twice to help La Vecchia Signora win its 4th straight game and extend their unbeaten streak to 6 matches.

Inter bounced back from midweek Champions League disappointment with a 2-0 home victory over Fiorentina. Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored twice to knock I Viola into 5th place. Fiorentina's result meant that Genoa would move into 4th as they took advantage of Fiorentina's loss by winning at Cagliari 1-0. Ruben Olivera's goal in the 85th minute gave Genoa the big win.

Here are the results from Week 28 & Standings:

Saturday, March 14

Cagliari 0 - 1 Genoa
GEN: Ruben Olivera (85')

Juventus 4 - 1 Bologna
JUV: Salihamidžic (48'), Giovinco (71'), Del Piero (75' & 87')
BOL: Massimo Mutarelli (24')

Sunday, March 15

Atalanta 2 - 0 Torino
ATL: Sergio Floccari (46' & 72')

Lazio 0 - 3 Chievo
CHI: Bogdani (27'), Sergio Pellissier (28' & 84')

Palermo 5 - 2 Lecce
PAL:Cavani (11' & 59'), Simplício (18'), Miccoli (41'), Simon Kjær (56')
LEC: Simone Tiribocchi (17' & 34')

Reggina 1 - 1 Napoli
REG: Bernardo Corradi (27')
NAP: Ezequiel Lavezzi (64')

Sampdoria 2 -2 Roma
SAM: Giampaolo Pazzini (25' & 43)
ROM: Julio Baptista (7' & 70')

Siena 1 - 5 Milan
SIE: Massimo Maccarone (62')
MIL: Pirlo (7'), Inzaghi (48' & 71'), Pato (55' & 78')

Udinese 1 - 1 Catania
UDI: Fabio Quagliarella (71')
CAT: Giuseppe Mascara (25')

Inter 2 - 0 Fiorentina
INT: Ibrahimovic (11' & 90')

STANDINGS:

Serie A Weekly Wrap - Week 28

This weekend witnessed impressive hat tricks from 2 players that heated up their matches. In Milan, veteran striker Pippo Inzaghi scored his hat trick with 7s in mind. Scoring goals in the 7th, 71st, and 74th minutes to give Il Rossoneri a big 3-0 win over Atalanta to tighten their grip on 3rd place.

The other hat trick happened in Bologna as Marco Di Vaio distanced himself from his rivals for the title of Capo Cannoniere. His goals were crucial in keeping Bologna out of the relegation zone and the 3-0 victory over Sampdoria snapped Bologna's 5 game winless streak. Di Vaio's hat trick came at the expense of a Genoese side who were coming off a massive midweek 3-0 win of their own against Inter in the 1st leg of the semis of the Coppa Italia.

The pursuit of 4th place and the last Champions League spot did not get any clearer as Genoa & Fiorentina lost at home by 2-0 scorelines. Genoa at the hands of Inter Milan and Fiorentina falling to Palermo. Roma failed to fully capitalize when they drew 1-1 at home to Udinese. Roma did pull even with Genoa in reaching 5th place as both Roma & Genoa trail Fiorentina by 1 point.

Here are the results from Week 27:

Saturday, March 7

AS Roma 1 - 1 Udinese
ROM: Vucinic (61')
UDI: Felipe (54')

Genoa 0 - 2 Inter Milan
INT: Ibrahimovic (2') & Balotelli (61')

Torino 0 - 1 Juventus
JUV: Chiellini (81')

Sunday, March 8

Bologna 3 - 0 Sampdoria
BOL: Di Vaio (46', 87', 91')

Fiorentina 0 - 2 Palermo
PAL: Simplício (48') & Miccoli (56')

Leece 0 - 0 Reggina

AC Milan 3 - 0 Atalanta
MIL: Inzaghi (7', 71', 74')

Napoli 0 - 2 Lazio
LAZ: Rocchi (57' & 65')

Chievo 1 - 1 Cagliari
CHI: Makinwa (56')
CAG: Jeda (28')

Catania 0 - 3 Siena
SIE: Maccarone (10'), Ghezzal (69'), Jarolím (90')

Serie A Weekly Wrap - Week 27

Week 26 of Calcio Italiano produced some exciting football including the league leaders fighting back from 2 goals down.

Inter Milan trailed Roma 2-0 into the 2nd half, then a back & forth affair ensued eventually ending with Mario Balotelli getting a double and Hernan Crespo heading in the equalizer in the 79th minute. Crespo's goal allowed Inter to salvage a point and keep Juventus 7 points behind.

La Vecchia Signora did gain ground on Inter with their fortunate 1-0 win over Napoli. Claudio Marchisio scored before half-time as Napoli failed to muster an equalizer. Diego Maradona's old side continues to slide as rumors of locker room division continue to plague the team. Napoli are winless in their last 8 games.

The most impressive performance came from Catania in a battle of Sicilian sides. Catania dominated Palermo in embarassing them 4-0 at Palermo's enzo Barbera stadium. Catania had the match wrapped by half-time with 1st half goals by Pablo Ledesma, Takayuki Morimoto, and Giuseppe Mascara.

Here are the results & standings from Week 26:

Serie A Weekly Wrap - Week 26

Week 25 of the Italian Serie A did not produce any major surprises. A mild surprise was Atalanta's 1-0 road loss to Sampdoria. The Genovese side ended Atalanta's 3 game winning streak as Giampaolo Pazzini scored in his 4th straight game. Sampdoria now sits 7 points out of relegation on the strength of a 5 game unbeaten streak.

Pazzini's old team, Fiorentina added some drama to Week 25 with a 2-1 victory over relegation threatened Chievo Verona. Adrian Mutu rescued I Viola again with a late goal deep into 2nd half injury time to get the 3 points and keep I Viola in 4th place. A good result considering their midweek UEFA Cup loss to Ajax.

Here are the results from Week 25 [Home Teams Listed First]:

Bologna 1 - 2 Inter Milan
BOL: Britos (79')
INT: Cambiasso (57') & Balotelli (82')

Roma 1- 0 Siena
ROM: Taddei (63')

Palermo 0 - 2 Juventus
JUV: Sissoko (27') & Trézéguet (79')

Catania 2 - 0 Reggina
CAT: Capuano (35') & Potenza (74')

Fiorentina 2 - 1 Chievo
FIO: Gilardino (73') & Mutu (90'+4')
CHI: Morero (13')

Lecce 0 - 2 Lazio
LAZ: Foggia (10') & Kolarov (50')

Milan 1 - 0 Cagliari
MIL: Seedorf (65')

Napoli 0 - 1 Genoa
GEN: Jankovic (69')

Sampdoria 1 - 0 Atalanta
SAM: Pazzini (61')

Torino 1 - 0 Udinese
TOR: Dellafiore (80')

Standings:

Serie A Weekly Wrap - Week 25

Week 24 of the Serie A featured two massive top of the table matchups. The headliner of course being the Derby della Madonnina. The Milan derby was an exciting match with its share of controversy. Adriano's opening goal was clearly a handball that went past Milan keeper Christian Abbiati. Dejan Stankovic put a one-timer past Abbiati in the 43rd minute after Zlatan Ibrahimovic headed down a long ball to give The Nerazzurri a 2 goal lead.

The Rossoneri pressured Julio Cesar in the 2nd half especially after Pippo Inzaghi come on for an apparently injured David Beckham. Pato's 71st minute goal came when Marek Jankulovski got to the goal line and pulled the ball back to Pato who put it into the back of the net. Inzaghi had a goal nullified for offsides after he skillfully roofed a shot past Julio Cesar. The 2-1 victory spoiled Paolo Maldini's last Derby della Madonnina and put Inter 11 points ahead of 3rd place Milan & 9 points ahead of 2nd place Juventus.

The other top of the table match was a 6 goal thriller featuring 4th place Fiorentina & 5th place Genoa. I Viola rallied from 3 goals down at Genoa's Stadio Comunale Luigi Ferraris. The Florence side were saved by their franchise player, Adrian Mutu who scored a hat trick in the 2nd half including the point stealing goal in the 93rd minute. Genoa went up 3-0 despite playing with 10 men after Giuseppe Biava was red carded in the 30th minute but blew a great opportunity to move into 4th place and that final Champions League spot.

Here are the results from Week 24 [Home Teams Listed First]:

Serie A Weekly Wrap - Week 24

The race for European spots tightened up considerably after Week 23 of Calcio Italiano. After this week only 6 points separate 2nd & 6th place.

AS Roma remained unbeaten in 2009 with a crushing 3-0 home win vs. Genoa. Cicinho scored his 1st of the season in the 26th minute and his Brazilian compatriot Julio Baptista broke out of a 3 game goal-scoring slump to score late in 2nd half injury time to move into a 5th place tie in points with Genoa.

Cagliari & Napoli took big hits in their quest for European spots. Cagliari suffered an emotional letdown after last week's win over Juventus by losing at home 1-0 to Atalanta. Napoli was leapfrogged in the standings by Palermo after the Sicilians defeated Napoli 2-1.

Juventus moved back into 2nd place on the strength of a 2nd half injury time winner by Christian Poulsen to give Juve a 2-1 road victory versus Catania. Milan drew at home 1-1 versus Reggina to slide down into 3rd.

Here are the results from Week 23 of Serie A [Home Teams Listed First]:

Saturday, February 7

Lecce 0 - 3 Inter Milan
INT: Ibrahimovic (12'), Figo (72'), Stankovic (82')

AC Milan 1 - 1 Reggina
MIL: Kaká (67')
REG: Di Gennaro (33')

Sunday, February 8

Cagliari 0 - 1 Atalanta
ATL: Cigarini (66')

Catania 1 - 2 Juventus
CAT: Morimoto (51')
JUV: Iaquinta (11') & Poulsen (90'+1')

Fiorentina 1 - 0 Lazio
FIO: Gilardino (89')

Roma 3 - 0 Genoa
ROM: Cicinho (26'), Vucinic (47'), Baptista (90'+2')

Sampdoria 2 - 2 Siena
SAM: Bellucci (45'+2') & Pazzini (51')
SIE: Vergassola (21'), Maccarone (79')

Torino 1 - 1 Chievo
TOR: Ventola (64')
CHI: Italiano (83')

Udinese 1 - 0 Bologna
UDI: Sanchez (90'+2')

Palermo 2 - 1 Napoli
PAL: Migliaccio (2') & Simplício (14')
NAP: Hamšyk (43')

Serie A Weekly Wrap - Week 23